new york city, was pounded and pounded and pounded by this devastating hurricane. all america watched, we all held our breath, we all feared the worst, and we saw the worst. and, at the same time, we saw the indomitable spirit of the american people hanging onto their home, praying for their livelihood, and while all that was going on and the president visited, the governors on both sides of the aisle, to say you've got the united states of america behind you. well, the united states of america being behind you, whether you're governor o'malley or governor christie or governor cuomo or the other goafns means that we -- governors means that we need to pass this bill, and we want to pass it because we know that lives were devastated and livelihoods were ruined. in maryland, gosh, we faced these unique challenges -- hurricanes, blizzards, urban and rural communities affected. and our own lower shore, some somerset county was hit. that has one of the highest unemployment rates in the city -- in the state, close to 10%. 18% of the residents moved below a line of 35 $$35